(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) - Sarah Fainberg and Viktor Eichner Russia's military involvement in Syria was supposed to be short-lived and limited to air operations and arms deliveries to the Assad regime. Yet Russia has sent hundreds of expeditionary forces to the Syrian frontlines. The Syrian battlefield permitted Russia to undertake the first large-scale and coordinated activation of its upgraded intervention forces. Russia's ground personnel in Syria help portray Russia as a provider of efficient military support in hotspots across the Middle East. Speculation about the deployment of Russian special operations forces and military advisors at an air base in western Egypt near Libya in March 2017 may be another manifestation of this phenomenon. Dr. Sarah Fainberg is a research fellow at INSS, where Viktor Eichner is an intern.
2017-08-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive